As part of our ongoing series La Comunidad Reads\, join the Library\, Loyalty Bookstores\, and Lupita Aquino for a c onversation with Jaquira Dí\;az\, author of the new novel This i s the Only Kingdom\, an epic novel of a mother and daughter wrestling with the aftermath of a murder\, set against the backdrop of a tightknit\ , working-class barrio in Puerto Rico.
\nCopies of the book will be available for sale and signing after the discussion.
\nFrom the Whiting Award-winning author Jaquira
Dí\;az\, \;an epic novel of a mother and daughter wrestling wit
h the aftermath of a murder\, set against the backdrop of a tightknit\, wo
rking-class barrio in Puerto Rico.
When Maricarmen meets Rey el Canta
nte\, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise\, she b
egins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caser&iacut
e\;o\, Puerto Rico &ndash\; beyond cleaning houses\, beyond waiting tables
\, beyond the constant tug of war between the street hustlers and los cama
rones. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined\, and she
soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself\, for Rey\, his
young brother Tito\, and eventually\, their daughter Nena. \;Until one
fateful day changes everything.
Fifteen years later\, Maricarmen and
Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation as the commu
nity that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena\, a tee
nager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity\, mus
t learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcomin
g. For lovers of the Neapolitan novels\, \;This Is the Only Kingdom&nb
sp\;is an immersive and moving portrait of a family &ndash\; and a communi
ty &ndash\; torn apart by generational grief\, \;and a powerful love l
etter to mothers\, daughters\, and the barrios that make them. \;â€
‹ \;
Bor n in Puerto Rico\, Jaquira Dí\;az was raised betwee n Humacao\, Fajardo\, and Miami Beach. She is the author of \;Ordinary Girls: A Memoir\, winner of a Whiting Award\, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal\, a Lambda Literary Awards finalist\, an American Booksellers Associ ation Indies Introduce Selection\, a Barnes &\; Noble Discover Great Ne w Writers Selection\, an Indie Next Pick\, a Library Reads pick\, and fina list for the B&\;N Discover Prize. \;Ordinary Girls \;was optio ned for television and is currently in development.
\nThe recipient of a Letras Boricuas Fellowship\, the Jeanne Có\;rdova Prize for Les bian/Queer Nonfiction\, the Alonzo Davis Fellowship from VCCA\, two Pushca rt Prizes\, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant\, and fellowships from Ma cDowell\, the \;Kenyon Review\, Bread Loaf\, Sewanee\, the Wisconsin I nstitute for Creative Writing\, and the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV\, Dí\;az has written for \;The Atlantic\, \;The Guardian\,&nb sp\;Time Magazine\, \;T: The New York Times Style Magazine\, and \ ;The Fader\, and her stories\, poems\, and essays have been anthologized i n \;The Best American Essays\, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext\,& nbsp\;Best American Experimental Writing\, and \;The Pushcart Prize&nb sp\;anthology. In 2022\, she held the Mina Hohenberg Darden Chair in Creat ive Writing at Old Dominion University&rsquo\;s MFA program and a Pabst En dowed Chair for Master Writers at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Her de but novel\, \;This Is the Only Kingdom\, longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize\, is forthcoming October 2025. She lives i n New York and teaches at Columbia University.
\nLupita Aqui no - better known as @Lupita.Reads on Instagram and TikTok\, pass ionately spreads her love for books online. Alongside her vibrant online p resence\, she has contributed insightful book coverage to outlets such as TODAY.com\, Aster(ix) Literary Journal\, She Reads\, The Washington Indepe ndent Review of Books\, and many more. Notably\, Lupita has served as a ju dge for the 2023 Louise Meriwether First Prize for the Feminist Press and was on the Selection Committee for the Aspen Words Literary Prize in 2021. When not immersed in books\, she enjoys exploring local bookstores and li braries with her wife and son.
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